Seeley



4 Sheets-8heet 1.

' (No Model.)

P; SHELBY.

GRAIN ELEVATOR",

. 'PatentedNov lii, 1883.

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N. PETERS. Pholn-Lilhogrzphan Washing! n. c.

(No Model.)

' 4 s11Gets-walker, 2 M, I. SEELEY. GRAIN ELEVATOR.

I N\/ ENTEIFK (No Model. 4 Sheets -Sheet a.

J V M.F.SEELEY. 1

' GRAIN ELEVATOR.

" Patented Nov. 13, 1883. i

N PETERS. Mums-wh Washington, 0.0

s age-bins extending totheroof, and of receiving'bins and a bin for cleaned grain placed un- 1 UNrrn s a-TBS ATENT FF CE.

, GRAIN-ELEVATOR."

4 SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No; 288,871, dated November 13, 1883. Application filed Dece mber 26,1882. (No model.)

' To all whom: it may concern:

- being had to the accompanying drawings, and

to the Illetters of reference marked thereon,

which form a part of this specification.

" This invention relates to improvements in those structures forhandling and storing grain generally known as grain-ele vators. Its

objects are to simplify the construction of such buildings and apparatus, to lessen their cost,

and at the same time to increasethe general efliciencyof their operation.

,It consists in the matters. hereinafter described, and pointedout in the claims.

- The structure shown asembodying my invention is more particularly adapted for use at aplace where grain is received in wagons pre paratory to being cleaned and shipped in cars or vessels; but its general features of construcin plan, having a substantially unitary hopper-structure placed beneath it, whichslopes from thesides cf the building towardits cen-. ter, and forms the bottom of a series of storder a working-floor in the central part of the building. All. of the bins mentioned are consiruoted to discharge their contents at the lower ends of two elevator-belts extending to the top of the building. Each of these belts is arranged to discharge at its top into con:

veyer-spouts, which extend to all of the storage-bins, and to bins placed over a graincleaner and weighing-hopper. Thesaid elevator-belts are so arranged, in connection with and that the operation of handling the grain isfacilitated in other ways, as will be hereini after more fully explained. Improvements in certain details ofthe operative parts'and in the. construction of the buildingare also em-' braced in my invention, and will be hereinafter described. a

Proceeding to describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, Figure l-is a plan view of a. grain-elevator constructed as proposed by iny invention. Fig. 2 is a vcrtical section of the same on line 00 m of Fig. 1. i Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section on line 2 z of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail section of the dumping devices over the receiving-bins. Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the turnspout and its connection with the top of the elevator.

A A are the outside walls of. the building,

andB Bare two transverse partitions placed at equal distances from the sides of the building and extending to the roof. The two compart ments adjacent to the outside walls formed by these partitions are divided into storage-bins G C by means of partitions c c c, which are i arranged radially with reference to a pointnear the center of the partition-walls B, where the discharge-gates c c of said bins are placed.

Thebottoins O G of the bins G areinclined from the outside walls of the building toward the discharge-gates c c, as shown more plainly in Fig. 2, so that all of the grain in the several bins may be discharged therefrom through the said gatesupon an inclined surface, 0 which conveys it to the lower ends of the two elevator-belts D D. The gates c c are placed in the walls of recesses 6,f01l116f1 in the parti tion-walls B, asshown in Figs. land 3, and the handles by which such gates are opened and closed extend upward through a working-floor, E, and in a position convenient to the operator, stationed on said floor. The

surface 0 is placed between the partitions B B, and slopes from the walls of. the building to a pit or depression, 0 below the level of 0 the discharge-openings of the bins O, and at a little distance laterally therefrom.

The lower ends of the two elevator-belts D D are placed in the pit Di-and suitable guides, 0 are placed upon the surface 0 to direct the grain falling upon the said surface from the bins Oto the said belts. These elevator-belts are constructed in the. customary H manner, being inclosed in boxes or casings D D, and passing over pulleys d d at the bot tom and top of the building, respectively.

The working-floor E is placed between the partitions B B, a short distance above the ground, and on a level with said floor. At, one

side of the bins O isa driveway, F, which ex- I charge at the top. of the building into turntends acrossthe building, and is reached from the ground outside by suitably-inclined approaches, so that wagons loaded with grain may be brought into the building. Beneath the driveway F are placed two receivingbins, G, into which grain can be discharged through an aperture, 1'', in'the floor of the driveway. The bins G G have a common inclined bottom, G, which slopes to the pit G,

before mentioned, and they are separated by a central vertical partition, G". At thelower ends of the bins G are discharge-gates 9,

which are opposite-the inlet-opening in the elevator-box D, and operated by handles projecting upwardly through the working-floor F, by which the gates may be opened and grain admitted to the lower ends of the elevator.

Upon the upper portion of the incline 0 below the floor E, is a bin, I, for cleaned grain, into' which a grain-cleaner placed on the said working-floor is arranged to discharge. The front wall of the bin I is composed of two inclined partitions, I I, which meet at an angle near the lower end of the incline 0?,and at the center thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. At the lowest point in said bin, adjacent to the point of intersection of the partitions I I, two discharge-gates, i i, are placed in said partitions, adapted to discharge the contents of the bin upon the lower portion of the surface 0 From the point of intersection of the walls I I, and between the gates t z, guide-partitions 2" i on the inclined surface 0 extend to the inletopenings of the elevator-boxes, so that grain maybe discharged from the bin I to either elevator by opening one or the other of the gates 2'.

By the arrangement of the incline G, bin I, and discharge-openings of the bins O, as described, it will be seen that grain may be delivered to the elevator-belts at either side from the storage-bins adjacent to that side, and to either of the elevatorrbelts from the bin I for cleaned grain.

In order to secure economicallya firm foundation for the storage-bins, and to obtain a sufficient capacity therein without unduly in creasing the height of the building, the bottoms of said bins are placed near the ground, and the pit 0 into which said bins discharge, is sunk considerably below it. This mode of construction is also found desirable in order to have the working-floor and fioor of the driveway F (which latter is placed over the receiving bins) as near the surface of the 7 ground as possible.

In thespace between the partition-walls B, above the working-floor, are placed bins K,

which are connected by means of spouts k with a grain-cleaner, L, placed on the workingfloor over the bin I, and also bins M, which are provided with outlet-valves m, adapted to discharge the contents thereof to a weighinghopper, N, also located on the working-floor. The elevator-belts D D are arranged to disspouts O. 0, each of which is adapted to be rotated by means of a vertical rod, O,extending to the working-floor, and provided with a handle, 0, so as to connect with either one of a number of conveyer-spouts, 1?,which extend from each of the elevator-belts to all of the storage-bins O, and to the bins K over the graincleaner, and to the bins 'M over the weighing-hopper. v

The mode of operating the elevator arranged as described is as follows Grain received from wagons or otherwise into one of the bins G, through the opening f in the floor of the driveway, is allowed to pass from said bin through the gate 9 to one of the elevatorbelts, by which it is carried to the top of thebuilding and delivered through one of the spouts P to the bin K, whence it passes through the spout it into the grain-cleaner, and then into the bin I. From this bin, by opening the proper gate, 2', the grain is allowed to pass to the other elevatorbelt, by which it is again carried to the top of the building and deliv-r bin M over the weighing-hopper, preparatory to its being weighed and delivered to the cars or vessel. The grain may be taken from either of the receiving-bins G while the other is being refilled by allowing the cleaned grain from the bin I to pass to either one of the elevators by one of the gates z i, as desired, and using the other elevator to draw from the receiving-bin which it is desired to empty. Grain is removed from either of the several storage-bins O by opening one of the gates c, from which it will pass to the bottom of one of the elevator-belts, in the manner before described, and will be carried by such elevatorbelts to the top of the building and deposited in the bin M over the weighing-hopper. Both IIO elevators may be used in raising grain'from the storagebins at the same time, one drawing from the bins 011 one side of the building and the other from those on the opposite side, and both elevators may drawin-the same manner from the receivingbins G G. i

It will be, apparent from the above description of the operation of the elevator that by the use of two elevator-belts and the arrangement of the bins and connecting-passages described the operation of cleaning the grain and elevating it to the storage-bins may proceed at the same time and bya continuous operation, whereby a great saving of time and cost is effected.

The pulleys d d, over which the upper ends of the elevator-belts D D pass at the top of the building, are placed upon a shaft, (P, which is provided with a pulley, d preferably placed between the belt-pulleys, and driven by a belt,

d, from apulley, (1 on a driving-shaft, d; This shaft is located above the floor F and at right angles to the shaft (1 and is connected to a steamengine or other motor, preferably,

placeduponan extension of the floor F, so

. that the said engine may bereadily accessible by an operator stationed on said floor.

Upon the pulley-shaft (1 between the driving-pulley d and the belt-pulleysd, are placed two clutches, d d which are operatedin the ipulleys from the driving-pulley d ordinary manner to disconnect the said belt- By the p p use of said clutches either of the belts Dmay be operated as desired, or both together.

It isfoundin practice that the elevatorstructure is liable to settle unevenly on account of the weight of 'graintherein, and in order that such uneven settlement shall not" affect the relative position of the several. operative 1 parts by which the elevator-belts are driven,

I have placed the elevator-casings D D upon foundation unconnected with the foundations of the main structure, and have attached operative parts to said casings and made them independent of the frame of the building.

the frames supporting thebearings of the said The bridge-trees D D, which support'the 1 bearings of the pulley-shaft d, are attached to and supported upon the upperends of the casingsDQand the bearings of the drivingshaft d are supported on beams D also atp tached to the said casings, so that the shafts mentioned will remain in proper relative positions,notwithstanding any settlement that may occur inthe main,building. The frames 1), whiclrsupport the ends of the conveyerspouts P, are also supported upon the casings v D, for the samereason. i I

in a platform, 1?, placed on the frame D", and

i The endsof the conveyerspoutsl terminate are arranged inthe arc of a circle concentric with thepivotal center of the turn-spout O,

1 f so that the lower end of said turn-spout,which rests upon the said platform 1?, may be moved so as to come opposite the end of either of said spouts; The top ,of 'the turn-spout O is connectedto a receiving-hopper, 0, attached to the bridgetrees D", and the top of the belthood, 0. These parts are arranged in a wellpulley and the said hopper is covered by a i known manner, and form no part of my invention. i

In order to provide a simpleand easily-constructed connection between the turnspout O f and hopper 0 which will notreadily get out of order or become choked with grain, I provide adepending flange, .0 Fig. 6, upon the hopper 0, and make the upper end of the turnspout O of sufficient internal diameter to fit over it and be readily rotated thereon. The

weight of the turn-spoutis supported and it is kept in place by a collar, 0. placed upon 1 v the vertical rod 0, by which the turn-spout is operated,which collar 0 is placedabove the bearing of the said rod in the frame D".

. i I preferably make the workingfloor E in= dependent of the frame of the building, and

i Support it on postse e from the ground, and

independently of the foundation of the build ing. This mode of construction is forthepurpose of preventing any settlement in such floor,

of line.

which, as before stated, is liable to occurto the main structure on account of the weight of the grain stored therein. Such settlement of the working-floor would be objectionable, because the grain-cleaner L, which rests on said floor, would be thereby changed in position with reference to the drivingshaft d ,and the driving-connections between them thrown out p The weighing-hopper N also rests upon the fioor E,and any settlement or tilting of the said floorwould render the action of the weighing apparatus inaccurate, and on this account also such settlement would be objec tionable. i i d In the floor of the driveway is a rectangular opening, f,through which grain from awagon may be dumped into the bins G and G. The opening f is provided with a trap-door, f,

which is closed for the passage of horses over it, and is opened when theqwagon is in position to be dumped.

ing f,which are adapted to receive the wheels of a wagon, and to be tilted with such wagon, so as to discharge its contents into the opening f in a well-known manner.

Pivotedtimbers Q Q are A placed in the floor, on either side of the open- At theedge of the floor, across the ends of l the openings in which the beams Q are pivoted, I placetwo ironrollers, q q, Fig. 5, which are so situated that the rear wheels of a wagon placed on said timbers will strike them when the timbers are tilted. The distancethrough which the timbers Q are tilted is limited, the ends being ordinarily thrown down about two dumped into the receiving-bin G, is arranged centrally over the partition G", between said bins. In order that the grain maybe dumped into one or the other of the bins G, as desired, I have provided a swinging guide-board, j,

which is pivoted to the'top edge of the parti tion G beneath the opening f, and its upper and free end is adapted to be swung from one side of said opening to the other, so :as to defleet the grain thrown into said opening to one The object of the rollers q is to pr0- side of the partition or the other, for thepurposeabove stated.

i It isfound, in many instances, where a sliding gate is used at the bottom of a deepbin, that the pressure of the grain uponthe upper surface of such gate is liable to render it difficult to be moved. To avoid this difficulty I have provided a stationary support over or in front of asliding gate, which support is adapted to take the direct pressure of the grain from said gate, but allows the grain to pass around its edgesto the gate whenthe latter is opened. Such a support is shown in connection with the gate in Fig. 2, in the bot- I bin I, and means for conveying the grain from tom of the bin M over the weighing-hopper. The gate mentioned is operated by a lever, m, and is arranged to slide horizontally, and over it I have placed a stationary support, m which has a double-inclined top, as shown, but may be a flat board, or in other desirable shape.

In order to provide a weighing-hopper the scale-beam of which will be convenient to the operator of the elevator on the working-fioor, and which is in proper position to receive the grain from the bin M and to discharge it at a proper height outside of the building, I support the weighing-hopper. N upon vertical standards a a, secured 011 a scale-platform, N, which rests upon the working-floor. The side n of theweighing-hopper, which is adjacent to the wall of the building, is preferably made vertical, as shown, in order to economize space in the building. 4 I claim as my invention l. In a building for storing grain, the combination, with means for elevating the grain, of aseries of bins having a substantially unitary hopper-bottom common to all the bins of the series and sloping toward a central pit, in which the lower end of the elevating device is placed, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. In abuilding for storing grain, the combination, with means for elevating the grain, of a unitary hopper-structure forming the bottoms of a series of bins, and radial partitions between said bins,whereby the grain may be discharged at a central point to the elevating device, substantially as described.

3. In the elevatoivstructure described, the combination of two elevating devices, two or more storage-bins, O, constructed to discharge to the several elevating devices, and a bin, I. arranged to discharge'to either of the said elevating devices, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a building for storing grain, the com-. bination of two elevator-belts, receivingbins G, and storage-bins 0, arranged to discharge to the said elevator-belts, a cleaner, a bin, I, constructed to discharge to either elevatorbelt, and means for conveying the grain from the top of each elevator-belt to the cleaner and the top of the elevator-belts to the storagebins, or outside of the building, substantially as described.

- 5. The combination, with the elevator-belts D and storagebins O, of bins K, arranged to discharge into a grain-cleaner, bins M, arranged to discharge into a weighing-hopper, and means for conveying the grain from the top of each elevator-belt to the said bins O, K, and M, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a building for storing grain, an elevator having its casings or legs constructed to form the supporting-frame upon which the several operative parts are mounted, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the floor of the driveway F, having an aperture, f, of means for directing grain discharged through said 7 aperture into either of the bins G, as desired.

8. The combination, with the floor F, having an aperture, f, and the partition G, of the pivoted board f substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

.9. In a device for dumping grain, the combination, with a floor, F, of a roller, q, located and operating substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

10. The combination, with the floor F an the dumping-timbers Q, of rollers q, having bearings in the said floor at the end of the dumping-timbers, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

11. In a structure for elevating and storing grain, 'a working-floor, E, supported from the ground, independently of the other parts of the building, substantially as described.

12. The combination, with the floor E and the bin M, of a weighing-hopper, N, placed above a scale-platform resting on said floor, and supported by standards a therefrom, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as inyinvention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

'MAR UIsF. SEELEY. M'itnesses: I

M. E. DAYTON, J ESSE 00X, J r. 

